Vintage Swimming Suit Quilt Block Tutorial Part 1 Mens Suit

When watching an ocean sunrise, we relish and hopefully memorize every moment! It’s intoxicating to feel the cool breeze with your toes in the sand, while deeply breathing the salty air.  It is mind boggling to reflect on how the land, sea and sky can be both powerful and peaceful at the same time.  We can only quietly watch as the evolving timed colorful masterpiece quietly disappears as quickly as it appeared. Don’t you just love to quietly sit there enjoying the live beauty and allow our minds to break from the hustle of worldly needs?

We don’t all have the privilege to live by the ocean, but when I am by the ocean, I try to memorize these moments in my heart. Ever since there have been people on the earth by the sea, I am certain that the ritual we enjoy and feel from ocean sunrises and sunsets are similar. It is mystifying to think we are relishing things that have been experienced by many different civilizations, cultures, people and times.  That quiet private therapeutic moment with nature can make us realize how small we are in scale to the civilizations that came before us.

Paintbrush Studio is sharing an Ocean Sunrise color palette from their new line Painters Palette solids for us to use our imagination to celebrate these moments.  As you surf the World Wide Web, you will notice over 30 quilt bloggers creating new quilt blocks to try to express their joy through fabric providing full tutorials to inspire you.

I can picture generations and different eras dressed in their ever evolving clothing styles enjoying these moments.   The one item consistent with people enjoying a sunset or sunrise is clothing and the fabric they are wearing.  Don’t we just love fabric?  Some of the fashions, style, fabric come and go with the ebb and flo of our cultures.

I love modern twists on vintage items.  For my block, I thought I would celebrate the modest vintage swimsuits that perhaps people were dressed in ready to leisurely enjoy the day along the sandy beaches.  I designed a modest man and woman’s swimsuit sitting next to each other on the sandy beach.  Perhaps watching the early morning sunrise or evening sunset, they would not only have their swimsuits but also a quilt to stay warm. (wink)

As stitching this block together we can think about and appreciate the civilizations before us that have enjoyed ocean sunrises and sunsets during daily life, times of war, contemplation, anticipation and peace.

To create this block I used the Painters Palette Midnight Blue, Daydream Blue, White, Peach Sand and Bordeaux Solids.  The methods used to create this block are piecing and strip piecing with a consistent 1/4 inch seam.  I love the striped vintage men’s swimsuit in Midnight Navy Blue and Daydream Blue.  The women’s swimsuit gives a nautical feel with the Bordeaux, White and Daydream Blue along with the white buttons to embellish the suit.

Part One Tutorial – Men’s Vintage Swimming Suit for an Ocean Sunrise 

1.  Read through the entire tutorial and instructions.  Stitch everything together with a 1/4  inch seam.

2. Here is a friendly layout of the Vintage Bathing Suits and the sections we will be working on.

Download Vintage Swimming Suit Quilt Block Pattern NOW

Free pattern download, as seen in the 2017 Quilters Planner by Deanna from Stitches Quilting.

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3. Cut the fabric carefully according to the instructions and specifications provided in the tutorial.

4 .  To create this 12.5 inch block we are going to break the block into manageable pieces working on Part One: Men's vintage bathing suit section and  Part Two: Women's vintage bathing suit.

Part 1: Men's Vintage Bathing Suit

Construct Men's Section BB - Center Section of Men's Bathing Suit

• Cut 3 - Midnight Navy Blue strips 1.5 inches by 7 inches
• Cut 4 - Daydream Blue strips 1.5 inches by 7 inches
• Sew 7 strips together alternating the Daydream Blue Strips with the Midnight Navy Blue strips.  Since you are working with 4 Daydream Blue strips and 3 Midnight Navy Blue strips each section will begin and start with a Daydream Blue strip.

• Square up this section so it is 6.5 inches wide and 7.5 inches tall.  This will be the center body portion of the men's vintage bathing suit section MEN-BB.  Carefully Press and set aside.

Construct Men's Section AA - Men's Bottom Section for legs 

• Cut 2 - Midnight Navy Blue Strip 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches
• Cut - the 8 Peach Sand templates provided in the Men's Bathing Suit printable.  The 8 Peach Sand Pieces are labeled MEN-A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J to reference where to stitch them.  Use the 8 templates to cut pattern pieces from the Peach Sand fabric.
• To ensure that the sizing is just right there is a special pattern piece labeled Men's Swimsuit Polygon Pattern Piece.  Be sure to trim the fabric of this connected section to the size of the Men's Swimsuit Polygon Pattern Piece.

• Arrange the 2 - 1.5 inch by 3.5 inch Midnight Navy Blue side by side lengthwise.
• Stitch the Men's Peach Sand A & B small triangle pattern pieces individually to each center ends of the 2 - 1.5 inch by 3.5 inch Midnight Navy Blue pieces.  Stitch the two pieces together lengthwise.  Carefully Press and set aside.

Join Men's Sections AA to BB 

Join Men's Vintage Swimming Suit Section AA to Men's Vintage Swimming Suit Section BB. This is the lower portion of the Men's Vintage Swimming Suit with the center Peach Sand triangle as the bottom.

Stitch Men's Peach Sand C & D long triangle pattern pieces to the bottom left and right sections of the lower portion of the Men's Vintage Swimming Suit (Combined sections just stitched together of Section MEN-AA and MEN-BB).  Carefully Press and set aside.

Construct Men's Section CC - Men's V Neckline 

• Cut 2 - Midnight Navy Blue Strips 1.25 inches by 7 inches
• Cut 1 - Daydream Blue Strip 1.25 inches by 7 inches.
• Alternating 3 of the 1.25 inch by 7 inch blue strips, stitch together 2 Midnight Navy Blue Strips with 1 Daydream Blue Strip in the center.
• Cut this set of strips in half and stitch Peach Sand Pattern Piece E & F

• Sew the set of strips back together along the long side of the triangles E & F.  Attach the Men's V Neck Line section to the Men's Main Swim Suit Section.

• Stitch the Peach Sand Pattern pieces G & H to the left and right edges of the Polygon Pattern Piece.
• Men's Vintage Swimming Suit Section CC is now complete.  Carefully Press and set aside.

Join Men's Section CC to BB together.

Complete shape of Men's Swimming Suit Section by sewing both Peach Sand Pattern Pieces F & G to the left and right top sides of Section CC combined with Section BB.  Carefully Press and set aside.

Construct Men's Section DD - Men's Upper Straps to Suit

• Cut 2 - Midnight Navy Blue Squares 1.25 inches by 1.5 inches
• Cut 4 - Daydream Blue Squares 1.25 inches by 1.5 inches
• The 2 bathing suit straps are constructed by sewing 2 Daydream Blue Squares with 1 Midnight Navy Blue Square in the center.   The final size of the bathing suit straps will be 3.25 tall by 1.5 inches wide.  Be careful on this step to stitch the bathing suit straps so the stripes when finished will be 1.5 inches wide and 3.25 tall.
• Join the two Upper Straps of  Suit with Peach Sand Pattern Square Piece H (2.5 inches x 2 7/8 inches) to either side of the 3.25 strap length.

• Stitch Peach Sand Pattern Pieces of I & J (1.5 inches by 2.5 inches)to either side of the bathing suit  straps.  Carefully Press and set aside.

Join Men's Section CC & DD together.

• Finishing the Men's Bathing Suit Block Section

Now that the Men's Bathing Suit is constructed, carefully press. The block needs to be carefully squared to the dimensions of 6.5 inches by 12.5 inches.

Click HERE - For the second half of the tutorial - Part 2: Women's Vintage Swimsuit

Please comment below, I can't wait to hear from all of you!  Where have you enjoyed an ocean sunrise or sunset.  All of the blocks from the entire group are AMAZING!  Can't you imagine one a these blocks extra large size as one quilt?  Want to see more Vintage Bathing Suits and Ocean Quilt Blocks?  I will be posting more - sign up for Stitches Quilting email list to have them delivered to your inbox!  Which blocks from the entire 2016 Paintbrush Studio Blog Hop do you think would pair up great with the Vintage Bathing Suits?

Now don't stop here.... there are many more innovative quilt blocks and full tutorials to see on the 2016 Paintbrush Studio Blog Hop! To view the blocks visually and quickly you can use the Stitches Quilting Pinterest Board I created below for the Blog Hop.

MONDAY MARCH 28TH

Kim @Leland Ave Studios; Andrea @The Sewing Fools; Cassandra @The (not so) Dramatic Life; Stephanie @Quilt’n Party; Irene @Patchwork and Pastry; Tish @Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland; Abby @Hashtag Quilt; Sarah @Smiles Too Loudly; Carrie @The Zen Quilter; Wanda @Wanda’s Life Sampler